TN This Week: Ordinance Banning Online Gambling Expires, Sangh Parivar Holds Closed Door Meet

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) held a two-day closed-door meeting for the top leaders of the Sangh Parivar organisations in Chennai on November 28 and 29 to chalk out the plan of action for 2023. The top leaders of around 30 Sangh Parivar organisations participated in the brainstorming session.

The ordinance passed by the government of Tamil Nadu banning online gambling has lapsed after the governor did not provide assent to the bill presented. The menace of online gambling continues, as an auto-rickshaw driver from Chennai ended his life after losing Rs 50,000.

The decision of the Union government to withdraw the pre-matric scholarship has received widespread condemnation. The government has said that the scholarship is applicable to students in high school, considering the RTE Act.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has raked up a controversy by claiming that there was a security lapse during the visit of the prime minister for the Chess Olympiad five months ago. The Director General of Police (DGP) has refuted any such lapses.

The Malai Vedan community’s wait continues for obtaining Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificates for pursuing higher education and employment as they are denied the certification by revenue authorities.

NewsClick brings you a round-up of the happenings in the state this week.

RSS’S BRAINSTORMING

The RSS held a two-day session for senior leaders of its affiliate organisations to decide on finalising the plan of action for 2023. Leaders and representatives from 30 Sangh Parivar organisations including the BJP, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Vidya Bharati have participated.

The top leadership of the BJP and other organisations reportedly presented their report on the work done in the last year.

Among plans for better outreach of the organisations, ways of propagating the merits of the National Education Policy (NEP) were also discussed. The RSS suffered a setback recently when the planned route march was granted permission with conditions by the court, leading to the organisation calling off the march.

Despite the progress the Sangh Parivar has made in the state, it faces stiff challenges on the ideological front from the left and Dalit parties.

ORDINANCE BANNING ONLINE GAMBLING LAPSES

With the governor of the state, R N Ravi refusing to provide assent, the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Ordinance expired on November 29. The minister for law, K Raghupathy, claimed that the government responded to the queries raised by the governor’s office immediately; yet, the assent was not provided. 

One more suicide has been reported in the state, taking the number of suicides due to loss of money in online gambling to 25. All the political parties accused the governor of continuing his conflict with the elected government, but the BJP supported the governor while demanding a ban on gambling.

A committee headed by retired justice K Chandru had recommended the ban in June 2022 following the increase in the number of suicides. 

BJP’S CLAIMS OF SECURITY LAPSE DURING PM’S VISIT

Five months after the prime minister’s visit for the inauguration of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in July 2022, the BJP state leadership has come up with allegations of security lapses. A delegation of the party met the governor to present a memorandum regarding the alleged lapses.

The BJP has alleged compromises on security devices used during the visit, only to be dismissed by the state police chief. The DGP claimed that the special protection group (SPG) orally lauded the security arrangements made by the state police.

Organising secretary of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), T K S Elangovan, rubbished the allegations claiming that the security cover was provided by the SPG.

‘RESTORE PRE-MATRIC SCHOLARSHIP’

The withdrawal of pre-matric scholarships for students from classes I to VIII has raised concerns among minority communities. The Tamil Nadu Minority People's Welfare Organisation condemned the decision of the Union government and called for a state-wide protest on December 17.

The organisation accused the BJP-led union government of snatching away the rights of the minority population in the country. “Instead of encouraging the people from various minority communities to pursue education, the government is pushing them out,” a statement from the organisation said.

WAIT CONTINUES FOR ST CERTIFICATE

The prolonged wait of the Malai Vedan tribals for the community certificate continues. The community members led by the Tamil Nadu Tribals Association (TNTA) held a sit-in protest in Dindigul against the inordinate delay in issuing the ST certificates.

PROTESTS

DIALYSIS TECHNICIANS PROTEST

The dialysis technicians working in government hospitals and healthcare institutions led by the Tamil Nadu Dialysis Technicians Welfare Association held a protest in Chennai demanding an extension of tenure and pending wages on November 29.

SFI PROTESTS AGAINST KASHI TAMIL SANGAMAM

The Students Federation of India (SFI) held a protest against the conduct of Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Chennai Central Railway Station, Rameswaram, and Coimbatore. They were detained by the police while attempting to enter the railway station.

RAIL ROKO BY FARMERS

The farmers in Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts resorted to rail roko in Nannilam and Muthupettai in Tiruvarur and Kizhvelur in Nagapattinam districts. They demanded better train services for the delta districts. The services of several passenger and express trains were partially or fully cancelled owing to the protest.

‘DROP LABOUR CODES’

Several unorganised workers’ unions held a protest demanding that the Union government drop the labour codes and ensure the rights of the unorganised workers. The workers were denied permission to take out a rally to the Raj Bhavan.